Probing Proverbs 14:7-9 Stay away from fools, for you
won’t find knowledge on their lips. The prudent understand where they are
going, but fools deceive themselves. Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly
acknowledge it and seek reconciliation.
Whenever I think of the word “fool”, I think of the story I learned so very
long ago about the Emperor’s New Clothes. He was deceived into
believing that he had the most magnificent wardrobe…even though the mirror
showed him he was wearing nothing except his briefs!
A “fool”
refuses to acknowledge, accept or live by Truth. He has his own truth, which he
has custom made for his lifestyle.
This passage states specifically three areas where fools excel
in: ignorance, agenda, and sin. If the facts are not what the fool desires, he
just makes up his own.
If the path he is walking on takes a direction he does
not want, he invents his own agenda. A fool refuses to deal with sin, so he
either marginalizes it or ridicules anyone that sees it as sin.
We can all act the fool at times, however, those that make it a
lifestyle are in great danger. Just consider how fools deal with God. They
remake Him in their image, so He is then acceptable to them. They are not here
for God’s
purpose; He is here for their purpose, to serve them. When it comes to sin, God
is not “hung
up”
on these issues. He changes His mind every time the fool does. The fool
dictates the standard, not God.
The So What: What effort do you make to know Who God is? When
things are not going the way you desire, what do you do? When you discover sin
in your life, what do you do? Is God, “GOD” to you, or god? 